&&000 Football Camp, by Green p1 &&111 =Troy knew better than to push the =NFL coach aside and signal the play himself for everyone to see. =Troy was a secret. The =Falcons were winning, =1713, but the =Bears had the ball on the =Falcons' five-yard line, and there was time for one last play. If the =Falcons' defense held, the game would be over and the team's run at the playoffs would be real. "You're sure," the coach asked, pain in his eyes as the smoke from his breath drifted skyward in the cold =Chicago air? The =Bears' offense broke the huddle and started for the line. =SethHalloway, the =Falcons' star linebacker, waved his hands to =Troy and the coach, frantic for a defensive play. &&000 p29 &&111 =Nathan frowned and said, "Yeah, didn't you call the play at the line last week on, like, every touchdown?" "That's because he can read defenses," =Tate said. "Have you been paying attention to everything going on here for the past month? The =Falcons hired him because he can predict plays. He knows what the other team is going to do." "That's in the =NFL, though," =Nathan said, scratching at his crew cut. "Football is football," =Tate said. "=Sheesh, now I got a girl telling me about football," =Nathan said, plastering his hand over his face. "Not just a girl," =Troy said. "A girl who won the punt, pass, and kick contest against the boys, and a girl who kicked the winning field goal that got us into the playoffs after some big lug -- I won't say his name -- got a holding penalty that kept us out of the end zone." &&000 p54 &&111 "=Tate? Well, I don't call you a football genius for nothing," =Seth said, grinning again and nodding. "They'll never pick it up. Go!" =Troy sprinted out to the huddle. As he went to the line, =Troy couldn't help glancing up at =JamieRenfro. Like the rest of the =Dragons crowd, the =Renfros were on their feet. =Troy wanted to win for a lot of reasons. He wanted to be a star player. He wanted to be noticed by coaches and college scouts. But he also wanted to show =JamieRenfro and his coach dad how foolish it had been to sit =Troy on the bench all season. The fans in both bleachers cheered wildly now, and =Troy had to shout. He drew the play in the grass for his teammates as he spoke, then looked at =Tate. &&000 p85 &&111 The reporter whipped out a miniature camera from underneath his tray, snapping a one-handed picture the flash leaving a yellow spot in =Troy's vision. "I knew it was you," =Peele said in a hushed whisper as he tucked the camera into his pants pocket. He wore the uniform shirt and tie of the other servers. =Troy removed his headset, shook his head, and said, "I'll talk to you, but not now." "After the game," =Peele asked, pointing at him with the tray still balanced in his other hand? "Yes," =Troy said. "I promise." "Okay, tell me this and I'll leave you alone until after the game," =Peele said. "You're =TroyWhite, right?" =Troy sighed and said, "Yes." &&000 p114 &&111 "But that's not what came out, is it," his mom said bitterly? "I mean, you don't really think that's the reason the =Falcons hired me, do you?" "Mom, you know I don't," =Troy said. "You had the job before any of this. I just said that I got you fired by my screwing up and they they rehired you after they saw what I could do." "Or that we'd kill you if you didn't help steal the plays," she said, throwing a nasty glance his way that cut him to the bone? "I didn't mean it like that," =Troy said, hanging his head. "I just said it, you know, like an expression." They pulled up to a red light, and his mom closed her eyes for a moment before exhaling through her nose and nodding her head. "I know you didn't mean it, =Troy, but unfortunately, I don't think it matters what you meant. The damage is done." &&000 p145 &&111 "Who told you to arrest anybody?" "Well, =Suzie," =Cussing said, beginning to whine, his eyes flickering between them all, "I got an issue arising here and I need some backup." "You don't need backup," =Seth said in a low tone of disgust and threw his hands up in the air. "I'm not resisting anything. You people want to mess this thing up for these kids, go ahead. Have fun. I hope you choke on it." =Seth left, his strides obviously causing him pain. "You choke on it, =Halloway," =Peele said, raising his voice. "And choke on what I write about you tomorrow, too." =Seth spun around and took a step toward =Peele, who cringed and ducked behind the chubby young cop. &&000 p174 &&111 Tomorrow will be tough, too, but a little easier. Then the last two days before the game it's all mental work. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. He'll be all right. We'll ice him down in the tub and give him some ibuprofen." "Ice in what tub," =Troy asked? =Seth glanced at him and said, "The bathtub. We fill it with cold water and ice and in you go." =Troy shivered at the though of it. "That makes you feel better," =Troy asked? "Hurts like heck at first," =Seth said, "but after a few minutes, you numb up and its pretty good for you. You'll be like new by Saturday." "Saturday," =Troy said? "What about the rest of the week?" &&000 p 205 &&111 "I told you this organization would never cheat," Mr =Langan said. Commissioner =Goodell shrugged and said, "I know it's unusual, but the truth is, he's not doing anything every coach in the =NFL doesn't try to do, predict the plays the other team will run. He just does it better." By now, =Troy didn't feel a bit of the headache. Whether it was because he wasn't concentrating so hard or because the ache had actually disappeared, he didn't care. =Troy grinned at the commissioner, then turned to =Seth and said, "Now we'll both be champs, me on Saturday and you and the =Falcons on your way to Sunday." &&000 p234 &&111 "That was my friend who called you," =Troy said, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm your appointment." "I ought to send your mother a bill for this," =Grumble said. "You know that?" "You ought to tell the truth is what you ought to do." "What's it to you?" "=Seth is a good person," =Troy said. "He never did anything wrong except trust you. So you did lie, didn't you?" =Grumble looked around and snorted. "Yeah, I lied. So what? You see this?" =Grumble wagged his head around, and =Troy saw the skeleton wasn't the only thing that had been boxed up. &&000 p 265 &&111 He got his players in the right position, but when it came to leading the charge and making the tackle, his hand made it tough. Not only did he feel a bolt of excruciating pain every time he hit a runner or a receiver, the tape made it much more difficult to wrap up a player and hang on. The =Vipers managed to kick two field goals, closing the gap to six points. Offense was even worse for =Troy. He stayed in, telling =Seth he could take the snap and hand the ball off better than his backup. He gutted it out, even though =Duluth's running game never gained more than three yards on a single play.